Injected
by StaindRedGlass
Summary: STORY 24: When Gibbs suddenly becomes ill without any clear reason why, the team can only do one thing... Entrust the care of their beloved Gibbs to a world-renowned diagnostician; Dr. Gregory House. And McGee's struggle continues. NCIS/House crossover.
1. Chapter 1

Here's the 24th story in my series. If you haven't read the other stories, then I advise you to not proceed until you do. This is a series. It runs in sequence. To understand certain things (especially where Jamie came from), it's best to just start at the beginning. This series is kind of like my very own NCIS season 4. As of this point, the series consists of: story 1 = A Link to the Past (comes in 3 parts)… story 2 = Wrong Place, Wrong Time… story 3 = Second Job… story 4 = Daughters… story 5 = A Personal Vendetta… story 6 = Bless the Children… story 7 = Eyes of the Condemned… story 8 = Disturbing Affection… story 9 = No Man Left Behind (story that introduces Chioke; aka Kid)… story 10 = Finger Swap… story 11 = Imperfect Heist… story 12 = The Color of Skin… story 13 = Death to the Jedi… story 14 = Brotherly Love… story 15 = For the Love of a Child… story 16 = Devil's Playground… story 17 = Forced Alliance… story 18 = Firing up the Screws… story 19 = Close to Home (story that introduces Julianna)… story 20 = Last Place on Earth… story 21 = The Two of Me… story 22 = Saw… story 23 = Rise of Apocalypse… story 24 = Injected (current story). Hope you enjoy it.

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**Author's Note:** Just so you know, the disease in this story is purely fictional.

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***Thursday***

***Chapter 1***

In the wee hours of the morning, Gibbs walks down the stairs into his basement. There is too much running through his mind to actually get sleep. So quietly working on the boat seems to be the best alternative for the time being.

As Gibbs works on the boat and drinks his bourbon, he suddenly becomes lightheaded and his eyes blur. A weakness sweeps over him. In his mind, he knows he's going to faint. Gibbs crouches in order to lie on the floor but it's too late. He falls. And as he falls, his head knocks against the boat frame.

Seconds later, a person walks down the stairs and approaches the now unconscious Jethro Gibbs who is lying helplessly on the floor.

"Nighty night, brother." Jared Lucas Gibbs said as he kneels down near Jethro. He takes out a syringe and a vial. "Unfortunately for you, I need a guinea pig. I know we've had our differences with me blaming you for ruining my life and you blaming me for the death of our sister. But what's blame without a little bit of fun." He sticks the syringe into the vial. With pulling the plunger, the contents enter into the containment of the syringe. "This is just the next step in my agenda. And the excitement of what happens to you because of it is a bonus." Jared smiles sinisterly as he sticks the syringe into his brother's belly button and empties the contents. "Enjoy the gift I bestowed upon you." He chuckles evilly.

Gibbs awakes hours later.

He doesn't recall what happened. All he feels is grogginess as he stands up.

Gibbs quickly shakes it off and walks upstairs, thinking nothing of it. He walks into the foyer to where the stairs are. It's time to wake Julianna up and get her ready for school.

Julianna wakes up as Gibbs enters into the room. He approaches the bed of the eight-year-old girl.

"It's time to get up." Gibbs said. "What do you want for breakfast?"

"Umm…" Julianna takes a couple seconds to think. "Pancakes." She answered with a smile.

"Pancakes it is." Gibbs chuckled. Then he leans forward and kisses her on the forehead. Afterward, he leaves the room.

The first thing Julianna does is look at the picture frame on the night stand next to the bed. A smile cracks across her face as she remembers her mother. She takes hold of the picture.

"Love you, Mom." Julianna said. She kisses the picture then sets it down. After taking a deep breath, she hops out of bed.

Julianna finally makes her way downstairs to find her breakfast sitting on the kitchen table ready to be eaten. She sits down, begins to eat and Gibbs gets her a cup of milk.

"Thank you." Julianna thanked her temporary guardian.

"You're welcome." Gibbs leans down and kisses her on the forehead.

At the start of the work hour, Tony steps off the elevator onto the third floor of NCIS Headquarters. The team looks in the direction as Tony is singing a Frank Sinatra song.

"Hopefully you'll spare us what you did last night because I already have a headache." Ziva commented as Tony enters into the bullpen.

"Well…" Tony said with a thought in mind. "If I told you what happened, that would be inappropriate and insensitive to my colleagues. Especially to the Probie."

"Oh please." Ziva laughed. "Like you care about the new guy's feelings."

"It's not new guy or Probie. It's McPherson." McPherson said.

"It's Mc… Whatever I want to call you. Get used to it." Tony stated. "I know over the years I shared a bit much…"

"A bit much?!" Ziva said in shock. "I heard you tortured Kate with your excessive chatter about every single woman you slept with. You tortured McGee and still torture me." She added. "At least with being married you toned it down a notch."

"Okay, so last night Jamie was in an unusually frisky mood…" Tony begins to say.

Ziva's head falls onto her desk with a sigh as this isn't helping her headache. The thought of grabbing her gun and shooting Tony crosses her mind.

"I don't think this is appropriate workplace conversation." McPherson stated.

"We're all adults here." Tony said. "Except for you, McDancesWithWolves. You still struggling for the elders to allow you to cross into manhood? Fight the power!" He referred to the probationary status of the new agent.

"What the hell are you talking about?" McPherson wondered as he's utterly confused.

"I have no idea. I'm just in a weird mood today." Tony grins. He notices Jamie steps off the elevator. "Okay, so there we were lying on the bed. I was watching Magnum. It was my favorite episode. I'll tell you about it later. So I'm trying to watch the episode and Jamie kept…"

"I kept what?" Jamie wondered as she approaches.

"Kept quiet until the episode was over." Tony smiles innocently.

"Sometimes I wonder why I bother with you." Jamie said.

"Cause you think my boyish charm is unbelievably adorable."

"That, among other things." Jamie winks at him.

"I think I am going to be sick." Ziva commented.

Gibbs finally arrives at work. After entering into the building, he steps off the elevator and walks in the direction of the bullpen.

"Good morning, Daddy." Jamie said happily. She receives a kiss on the forehead.

"Good morning." Gibbs said back. "Is DiNozzo behaving himself, McPherson?" He asked as he walks to his desk.

A crumbled up piece of paper flies across the room and hits McPherson in the head. He takes the hint.

"Yes… He's behaving." McPherson said. He shakes his head and sighs because it's been three weeks of constant torture from DiNozzo.

Gibbs stops in his place with feeling a sharp abdominal pain before it quickly goes back to normal. The sudden pain and quickness of it subsiding seems to be odd to him. Then his vision blurs slightly before going back to normal seconds later. With hearing laughter of two people messing around, he realizes something. Gibbs turns around to see Tony playfully messing around with Jamie. An immediate, overwhelming anger sweeps over him.

"I warned you to keep your hands off my daughter!" Gibbs yelled. Everyone freezes in their places. He charges in Tony's direction.

Gibbs hops over Tony's desk; knocking all items out of the way. He tackles Tony to the floor and starts whaling on him.

"Daddy, stop it!" Jamie exclaimed as she tries to restrain her father from beating her husband.

Ziva and McPherson stand in shock as Tony tries hard to protect his face from the pounding of Gibbs' fists. Ziva quickly runs to aid in trying to detain Gibbs from the violent attack.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Jamie shouted. She and Ziva try hard to stop the attack, but they're proving to be unsuccessful. "Stop!" She yelled before deciding to do the only thing she can do; Jamie punches her father in the face.

Gibbs' face whips to the side. He becomes lightheaded, passes out and falls to the floor.

"He broke my nose." Tony cried in pain. "What the fuck?!"

"Call 9-1-1!" Jamie yelled at McPherson. She looks to her father in concern and shakes him slightly. "Daddy…"

With the situation, a grave concern sweeps over Jamie. The look on her father's face when he charged seconds ago was that of finding out about her and Tony for the first time. The unexplainable memory loss has Jamie extremely worried for her father.


	2. Chapter 2

***Monday***

***Chapter 2***

Dr. Gregory House enters into Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital around 09:30 in the morning. Even though he walks with a cane, he tries to move quickly toward the elevator so Cuddy doesn't see him. As he passes the front desk, Dr. Lisa Cuddy sees him from the Clinic and goes after him.

"I've been paging you for twenty-five minutes." Cuddy stated.

"And I've been ignoring you for twenty-five minutes." House said. "It doesn't seem to have worked out for either of us."

"You have a new patient." She hands him the file but House doesn't accept it.

"As much as you know I'd love to take on a new patient, I can't. My case load is full. As is your bra."

"You have no cases. And you haven't had any case in over a week." Cuddy said. "Take the file and do your job." She hands him the file again and rattles off a list of symptoms which sparks his interest. He takes the file.

"This is a federal agent." House said as he glances at the file. "NCIS… What does that stand for? Naive Cuddy Inspects Suckers. And by suckers, I mean…"

"Diagnose him or work Clinic. It's your choice."

"You run a hard bargain."

House enters into the elevator. He steps off on his floor and walks in the direction of his office; the Department of Diagnostic Medicine. With rounding the corner, he sees a woman standing there waiting for him.

"Dr. House is the big black guy in the other room. Unless you're a stripper, than I'm Dr. House." House stated as he approaches.

"My name is Jamie Gibbs…" Jamie begins to say.

"Oh God…" House sighed as the woman is obviously the patient's daughter. "Who told you where my office is?" They both enter into his office while his team, Foreman, Cameron and Chase are waiting in the other room.

"I know how you operate, Dr. House. You like to mess with people and manipulate them to see how they react. You'll even manipulate patients into making what you believe is the right decision. You're rude, juvenile, unconventional, a risk-taker and you don't care to flaunt your Vicodin addiction in people's faces. But I requested you to take my father's case for a reason." Jamie said. "Because I know you'll do whatever you have to do in order to save him. You won't stop until you solve the puzzle."

"I'm flattered you decided to study me before coming here. I've never had a stalker before." House said. "At least I know I don't have to hide my Vicodin addiction from you. Not like I would've hid it anyway." He opens the prescription bottle and pops a pill into his mouth.

"Here's the address to my father's house and mine. I live right next door to him." She hands him the piece of a paper with the addresses. "In my yard is a rock garden. Under the fifteenth rock are two keys; one to my house and the other to my father's. I would appreciate it if you use the keys instead of breaking a window."

"Not being able to break a window defeats the purpose of searching a patient's home." House said. "Breaking windows is what my lackeys look forward to the most. It's what they became doctors for. Are you really going to deprive them of such pleasure? Or deprive me of such pleasure?"

"If you need to search the homes, there's a private jet waiting. And no, it's not my jet. It's on loan from the FBI. A Gulfstream." Jamie said. "Just don't steal my panties. Or try them on."

Jamie leaves House's office. House opens the door to the next room where the team has been patiently waiting.

"My hooker left. Now we can get to the medicine." House said. He walks to the white board, grabs the marker and starts writing the symptoms. "I'm sure you all looked at the file."

"We've been waiting for twenty-five minutes." Cameron stated.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah… I already got the fifth degree from Cuddy." House turns to them. "We have quite a few symptoms. Differential diagnosis… Go."

Foreman, Cameron and Chase start rattling off a bunch of opinions which House shoots down the majority of them. As the differential diagnosis continues, Chase suggests some type of infection.

"If it's an infection, the white count would be higher." Cameron said. "It's only slightly elevated. Definitely not enough to suggest infection. Besides the fact his temperature is normal."

"The blurred vision, intermittent memory loss and temporary psychosis could indicate a brain tumor." Foreman stated. "Nausea and weakness aren't just signs of infection."

"A brain tumor wouldn't account for the abdominal pain." Chase said. "Low BP and abdominal pain are typical of infection. As for the vision, memory loss and psychosis, the infection caused a clot in the brain depriving it of the necessary oxygen to function properly."

"Brain tumor is a lame diagnosis to begin with." House commented. "Unless the brain is tricking the body into thinking it has abdominal pain and the other symptoms. Still not a brain tumor. But brain problem nonetheless. Maybe he's just getting old, I don't know."

"We should exclude the temporary psychosis." Cameron said. "The patient only attacked the employee due to the intermittent memory loss. Jethro lost a year and half in that episode. The first time he found out his daughter was dating the employee, he overreacted; broke three of his fingers. It was as if he found out about them for the first time."

"What's the differential diagnosis for an overprotective parent of an adult?" House wondered. "Once we figure that out, we can go home. Or maybe we can just exclude every symptom, discharge him and call it a day." He puts a question mark next to temporary psychosis since the symptom is questionable.

"I still think it could be a brain tumor." Foreman said. "We should do an MRI to confirm or rule it out as a possibility."

"Let's assume military doctors are idiots." House said. "Assume all the veteran complaints about the poor health care are actually warranted."

"Its been documented that the veteran health care system is flawed." Cameron stated. "But that doesn't necessarily mean military doctors are idiots. If they had more resources and the proper funding, than veterans would get the health care they deserve…"

"Yeah, we get it. You love the vets." House said. "Now, as I was saying… Assume military doctors are idiots and veterans… Those whiney little complainers… Actually don't get the same medical treatment as Angelina Jolie." He continued. "Redo all the tests as if the results came from a third-world country." House ordered. "MRI, CT, X-ray, PET scan, EEG… Do every scan and gram again. And every other abbreviated test you can think of. Test his blood, urine; any fluid you can get out of him. Check for toxins, drugs, STD's and infections. Check the heart for any masses, defects or obstructions. Check for a clot in his brain or any foreign matter that doesn't belong. And while you're at it, check for cancer. The federal agency NCIS, whatever the hell that stands for, is paying for it. So go nuts."

"It stands for Naval Criminal Investigative Service." Foreman said.

"And here I thought it was a dyslexic spelling of CSI. My bad…" House commented. "Run as many tests as you can in the next twenty-four hours."

"What are you going to do while we're running a gazillion tests?" Chase wondered.

"There's a chance the cause could be environmental." House answered. "So I'm going to DC to search his home. I'd ask if you want to come but you're an insufferable bore."

"You're never interested in searching a patient's home." Foreman stated. "Unless the patient happens to be Cuddy, Wilson or one of us. You would jump at the chance."

"The patient works for a federal agency." House said. "He probably has tons of interesting classified secrets. Maybe even the location of E.T. Someone needs to rescue E.T. from the government. He's trying to phone home, you know."

"Oh yeah, I'm sure a Navy cop knows the location of E.T." Chase said sarcastically.

"It's possible." House said. "Though… It's also possible I stuck you all with a bunch of useless tests just so I can go to DC to check out the patient's daughter's underwear drawer. She lives next door to the patient. She's also hot, by the way. I'm thinking red panties as being her favorite." He continued. "Run the tests." House walks to the door and exits into the hallway. "Hey Wilson! Want to check out a woman's pantie drawer with me?" He shouted in the hallway for all to hear. Then he walks in the direction of Wilson's office which is next door.

The team exits from the room and are left wondering about House's interest in searching the patient's daughter's home.


	3. Chapter 3

***Chapter 3***

House and Wilson arrive at the airfield where the loaned FBI jet is waiting to bring them to DC. The sight of the jet puts a smile on House's face.

The two of them approach the stairs to the jet.

"I can't believe I let you talk me into this." Wilson said.

"It's not like you have anything better to do." House said. "Your only three appointments of the day all canceled."

"Of course they canceled after you called them and told them I have a highly contagious foot fungus."

"So I've deprived you of boring conversation with dying people. Big deal." House stated. "You should thank me. Look at this… We get to ride in a private jet; a Gulfstream G550. This thing is luxury with wings."

"I'm surprised you didn't bring a hooker along."

"Going out of state apparently costs extra." House commented. "That would've been irresponsible of me to charge to the hospital."

Meanwhile, McGee enters into the office waiting room of his therapist. He sits down on a free chair across the room from a woman rocking back and forth. Their eyes meet. The woman stops, stands up and walks over to him. She sits down on the chair next to McGee.

"I hear voices." The woman stated. "They tell me I should cleanse you of evil before the evil takes control of you." After seeing the expression on his face, she laughs. "I'm just messing with you. I don't really hear voices. My name is Mac… It's short for Mackenzie."

"I'm Tim." McGee said.

"When my husband died, I had a breakdown. I just completely shut off mentally." Mac said. "He was such a sweet man. Loved me unconditionally. I don't know why I stabbed him fourteen times." She continued. "So why are you here?"

"You really killed your husband?"

"No." Mac answered. "I just wish I did."

"Timothy..." The secretary tries to get his attention. "She's ready to see you."

McGee stands. He walks to the door and enters into the short hallway. Mackenzie giggles to herself and starts rocking back and forth again. McGee enters into the room where the therapist is sitting on her chair.

"It's nice to see you, Tim." The therapist greeted him. "How are you feeling today?"

"I had the dream again last night." McGee immediately started in. He sits down on the couch across from her. "Ever since the incident, Jamie's been in the majority of my dreams. And when I see her… My heartbeat increases, I feel anxious, nervous and uncomfortable. I'm starting to think I love her."

"You're not in love with her."

"How can you be sure?"

"When the two of you were trapped in that funhouse, you depended on Jamie to get you through it. You couldn't see at all because your eyes were covered the entire time. The one sense you depend on more than any other is the one sense you were unable to use. Add that to the fear you felt… You were completely vulnerable to her." The therapist said. "Your life was in her hands. And your hands were on her hips as being the only way she could lead you around safely. Your mind associated that psychical contact with fear. The dream where you and Jamie are having sex is you reliving that vulnerable state. How you feel when you're around her is because your mind is still depending on her to get you through the fear." She continued. "We need to conquer the fear you still feel. Once we do that, the voice of the creepy puppet will go away and things with Jamie will be back to normal."

"So it's just fear that's doing this to me."

"Yes."

McGee's therapy session continues for another forty minutes.

A car pulls up to the Gibbs' residence. House and Wilson exit from the vehicle. They walk onto the lawn of Jamie's home and approach the fifteenth rock of the rock garden.

"The keys are under that rock." House said as he points to it with his cane. Wilson lifts the rock, grabs the two keys and hands them to him. "You're pathetic."

"I'm pathetic for getting the keys?" Wilson wondered about the logic in the remark.

"No… You're pathetic for not making me do it." House replied. "I'm not too cripple that I couldn't have done it myself. You know I could've gotten those keys. But you did it anyway. You feel guilty about something."

"I've seen you try to get something on the ground before. It was just faster to do it myself than to watch you pull your thigh muscle."

"Oh snap…" House chuckled sarcastically. "That's funny because I don't have a thigh muscle."

"And what I feel guilty about is the fact that I didn't call my patients to tell them a child contacted them about a non-existent foot fungus." Wilson commented. "Than there's the fact we'll eventually invade a woman's privacy for no medical reason whatsoever… Other than your interest in checking out her panties."

"She gave me permission." House stated. "Besides, she lives next door to the patient. They're family. They're close. I'm assuming he's at her home often. So there is medical reason to search her home too." He continued. "Hopefully they're not close close. It would be a shame if I cure a man who sexually abuses his daughter."

House moves in the direction of Jamie's home while Wilson moves in the direction of her father's home.

"What are you doing?" Wilson asked. "The patient's home is this one." He points to the house.

"By searching her home first, we can concentrate our efforts more when we finally get to his home." House said as he walks to the front door of Jamie's home. "Come on…"

"The only thing you want to concentrate on are her panties."

"You got me." House chuckled. "There's no fooling you."

The two of them enter into Jamie's home. As House walks to the stairs, Wilson looks into a side room.

"Interesting…" Wilson said. "They have pets."

"Lots of people have pets." House stated as he approaches the threshold to the room. "There's nothing interesting about…" He sees what Wilson is looking at; two large aquariums, one consisting of two iguanas and the other consisting of something unordinary. The two of them approach the aquariums. "These people have a lobster for a pet. The lizards I can see… But a pet lobster. Who the hell has a pet lobster? Who the hell would even want a pet lobster?" He continued. "This lady obviously has a mental disorder." There's a brief pause as he watches the lobster.

"There's a litter box against the wall." Wilson stated. "If the cat is allowed to go outside, then it could've contracted a disease. I'll take a stool sample." He walks to the wall and kneels down next to the litter box.

Wilson freezes in his place at the sight of an animal entering into the room. The animal stops, stands still and stares at him.

"When you're done digging for buried treasure, take a sample of water from this tank." House said. "I'm going upstairs."

"House, don't move." Wilson said. "A sudden movement might set it off."

"Oh yeah, their cat is going to go postal on me if I…" House begins to say as he turns around and sees the animal. "Is that a…"

"It's a skunk."

The skunk walks to the litter box and steps inside.

"This lady definitely has a mental disorder." House stated. "Get me that skunk's pooh. I'm going upstairs."

"You can't leave me with…"

"Relax. The skunk's scent glands are obviously removed… I think." House said. "You can always politely ask the skunk not to spray you. Or run away like a coward. I really don't care."

House walks away while Wilson puts a latex glove on and reaches into the litter box. He acquires the sample, puts it in a sample bag and takes off the glove. Then Wilson slowly walks away in order to take a sample of water from the lobster aquarium. The skunk follows him. A feeling of being uncomfortable hits him as he looks down at the skunk on the floor. After taking the sample of water, Wilson makes his way upstairs to get away from the skunk. He finds House in the bedroom.

"Most of her panties are red." House said he holds up a pair for Wilson to see. "I was right."

"Put Jamie's panties down, House." Wilson said. "This isn't what we're here for."

"You called her Jamie…"

"So?"

"I never told you her name."

"I saw a magazine downstairs with her name on it."

"No you didn't. You know her." House said. "There's no point in denying it. I found a batch of cards you sent to her. They were in her pantie drawer."

"They were?"

"No, they were in the second drawer. But my original point still stands. You know her."

"I was friends with her foster family before they were murdered." Wilson said. "I keep in touch with Jamie. Send her a card on holidays… Phone-call once a month to see how things are going… Referred her father's case to Cuddy to give it to you."

"You told her about me."

"I told her nothing about you. I only referred the case. Nothing more… Whatever she knows about you, she found out on her own." Wilson said. "Now if you're done indulging your interest in Jamie's pants, maybe you can search the bathroom while I search the kitchen."

"My interest in Jamie's pants is purely medical."

"Right…"

"But it's interesting how you got defensive." House said. "There are only two reasons a person would get defensive. Either you definitely told her something about me, or, you want to tap the keg. I hope it's you want to tap the keg because that would be a heck of a lot more interesting since she's married. But I doubt that's it. So I wonder what it is you told her about me that you're ashamed of."

"Have you ever thought about channeling your powers into something more productive? Maybe using your powers for good?"

"Messing with people is productive. It's what makes me, me." House said. There's a brief pause. "Go downstairs and play with the skunk. And get me a blood sample while you're at it."

"How am I supposed to get a blood sample?"

"Use your imagination."

House tosses the pair of red panties at Wilson who catches it. While House enters into the bathroom, Wilson walks to the dresser, puts the panties in and closes the drawer.

Wilson walks downstairs where the skunk is waiting in the foyer. He sits on the bottom stair in trying to figure out how to possibly get the blood sample from the animal. The two of them stare at each other.

"Man versus animal." Wilson said to himself.

House steps out of the bathroom and searches the area around the woman's side of the bed. Upon finding Jamie's diary, House lies on the bed, opens it and starts reading.

After finishing their search of Jamie's home, House and Wilson move onto the home of the actual patient.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: **I apologize for the delay in getting this chapter posted. I've become addicted to MySpace apps LoL!

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***Chapter 4***

In the waiting area just outside Gibbs' hospital room, Julianna sits anxiously waiting with a tremendous amount of weight on her shoulders. Tremors shake her leg uncontrollably as concern and worry consume every part of her mind. She's already lost so much, so the thought of losing Jethro makes her want to cry. She depends heavily upon him to take care of her since she has no one else.

Jamie exits from her father's hospital room. With each step toward the waiting area, Julianna desperately tries to control her emotions and her shaky leg.

"I know you're scared, Jules." Jamie said as she sits next to the scared eight-year-old. "Everything is going to be fine."

"You don't know that." Julianna said.

"My dad is under the best care. I made sure of it." Jamie said. "Dr. House is the best doctor in the world. If anyone can figure out what's wrong, it's him."

"You're just trying to make me feel better."

"Yes, I am. But Dr. House is the go-to guy with this type of stuff." Jamie reassured her. "You haven't been in the room since we arrived. You should go in. He wants to see you."

The two of them stand and walk toward the room. Julianna tries to be strong, but she feels weak with every step closer to the room where her temporary guardian lies sick on a hospital bed. He's lying on his side with his knees curled to his chest while Cameron is performing a procedure.

"There she is." Gibbs said with a smile at the sight of the eight-year-old girl entering into the room.

"What's she doing?" Julianna wondered as she slowly approaches the bedside.

"I'm doing a Lumbar Puncture." Cameron responded. "It's to collect spinal fluid so we can test it."

"Sounds like it hurts." Julianna said.

"Dad is tough. He can handle it." Jamie stated.

"We're all done." Cameron takes the needle out and closes the sample vial. "You need to lie flat for an hour after an LP." She takes the latex gloves off and puts them into the trash. Then she places the LP needle into the biohazard bin. "We have you scheduled for an MRI in an hour and a half." She writes down information on the patient's chart then places it against the foot of the bed. "Dr.'s Foreman and Chase will pick you up…"

"Is he going to be alright?" Julianna asked Cameron in concern.

"Dr. House is the best doctor in the world." Cameron answered. "His only concern is to get Jethro better."

Meanwhile, in Washington DC, House and Wilson are still searching Gibbs' home. While in the kitchen, House opens the cabinet doors below the sink.

"We've got something dark, fuzzy and alive." House stated as he looks at the growth on the drain pipe.

"Great, you discovered mold." Wilson said.

"Why don't you stop being useless. Hand me a scrapper and specimen container."

Wilson hands the items over to House. He smirks at the sight of Wilson's hand wounds from the skunk biting him while trying to get a blood sample without the use of a needle.

"Don't smirk." Wilson said. "What did you expect to happen? It's not like I had a needle. I couldn't even get a sample because the thing kept biting me."

"Animals attack when they feel threatened." House stated as he scrapes some of the mold into the container. "Than again… I don't understand why the skunk felt threatened by a wuss like you in the first place. You reek of patheticness, not intimidation."

More than an hour later, Dr.'s Foreman and Chase enter into the hospital room to pick up Gibbs for his scheduled MRI. Gibbs gets off the bed and sits in the wheelchair. Before wheeling him away, Foreman recognizes the concern in the young girl's face.

"We'll take good care of him." Foreman assured the girl.

They wheel the wheelchair out of the room and start walking toward the elevator.

"That was nice of you." Chase said.

"The girl is obviously scared." Foreman stated. "She needs reassurance."

The elevator door opens and they get inside.

They enter into Radiology where the MRI machine is located. Upon entering into the room, Chase wheels the wheelchair close to the machine. Gibbs stands up, gets on the MRI table and lies down.

"This shouldn't take too long." Chase stated as he fixes the IV line. "And after we're done here, we have you scheduled like a ping pong ball. It'll be an all day affair with tests. So make yourself comfortable." He presses the button on the machine and the table with Gibbs lying on it moves into the MRI machine. Chase walks to the side where Foreman is already sitting at the computers. He sits down.

The loud clunking of the MRI machine starts.

"Why do you think House is so interested in the patient's daughter?" Chase wondered. "He's more interested in the daughter than the patient."

"I don't know. And I don't care." Foreman replied. "Knowing House it's probably a reason he'll justify with some bullshit rationale when all it really is, is him wanting to search her pantie drawer."

"I really think it's more than that." Chase said in wonder. "Something about her interests him."

Just outside Washington D.C., two biological scientists at PPC, Pharsbrook Pharmaceutical Company, are working on a top secret project. One of the scientist walks over to the cold storage unit. He unlocks the storage and opens the door. As he looks for what he needs, he notices a vial is missing.

"Where's specimen 734AlphaBeta79Charlie?" The biological scientist asked the other.

"It's probably been signed out." The other scientist said. "Let me check." He rolls his chair to the computer and starts tapping on the keys. "What's the serial again?"

"734AlphaBeta79Charlie." The man said. "If someone stole it, than we're in for a shit load of trouble."

The scientist at the computer plugs in the serial number and information pops up.

"Baker has it down in the development." The scientist stated.

"Thank God." The other sighed in relief.

"You worry too much. No one even knows about what we're doing."

"What if the specimen were to get out before being completed? What if someone actually did steal it?"

"Than whoever becomes infected with it is one unlucky bastard." The man replied. "But there's nothing to worry about. The specimen wasn't stolen."

Back in Princeton, New Jersey where Gibbs is still in the MRI machine, a strange feeling comes over him.

"You need to hold still." Foreman said into the microphone for Gibbs to hear.

Chase stands up and looks out toward the MRI machine. He sees the patient crawl out. Chase walks toward him in order to check what's wrong. Suddenly, blood spews from Gibbs' mouth.

"Foreman, get in here!" Chase yelled.

After containing the spew of blood, the two of them take Gibbs to another room for an emergency procedure to find where the bleed came from.

While the emergency procedure is underway, House and Wilson are in the jet on route back to New Jersey.


	5. Chapter 5

***Chapter 5***

A car pulls into the handicapped parking space assigned to Dr. Gregory House. In the passenger seat is Wilson. The two of them look at each after hearing a squeal. They look toward the backseat at the pet carrier. Neither of them can imagine what's going through the animal's head. All they can tell is that the animal is terrified.

They exit from the vehicle. Wilson takes the bag of samples acquired from they search while House takes hold of the pet carrying case and his cane.

After walking through the cool, darkness of night, House and Wilson enter into Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. Dr. Cuddy exits from the Clinic.

"House!" Cuddy exclaimed. She approaches the elevator where he and Wilson are waiting. "I've been paging you for…"

"Didn't we already have this conversation in the morning? I thought I clearly established I was ignoring you."

"You can ignore me all you wa…" She stops mid-sentence upon noticing it's not a cat or dog in the pet carrier. "What the hell is that?"

"This is Fluffy. Not sure about its real name. I just call it Fluffy."

"It's a skunk." Cuddy backs away after getting a good look at what's inside the pet carrier. "Get it out of here."

"Can't."

"Why?"

"Need to test its blood. Might prove to be medically relevant to save my patient's life." House stated. "His daughter is apparently a freak who has a pet skunk." There's a brief pause as Cuddy glares at him slightly. "If I point the skunk's ass at you, would you go away?"

"While you were gone, the patient spewed blood from his mouth. And now has a fever."

"I take that as a no." House said. "But I'm well aware of the patient's current condition and ordered board-spectrum antibiotics."

"You're more interested in the patient's daughter than the actual patient." Cuddy said. "Stop messing around and do your job before something worse happens." She then looks to Wilson. "And you stop indulging him."

The elevator doors opens. House and Wilson step inside.

"If you're done being overly concerned about my motives, I have a job to do. As do you. The men on the corner of 5th and Main are horny, have money and aren't going to wait forever." House commented in reference to prostitution. "And Wilson's not indulging me this time."

"It's true, I'm not." Wilson stated.

"The only thing Wilson's been doing…"

The elevator door closes before Cuddy being able to hear the rest of the sentence, not that she even cares to.

House and Wilson enter into the lab where the team is processing samples.

"We come bearing gifts." House stated as he places the pet carrier on the table.

"I need to change my bandages." Wilson said as he places the bag of samples on the table. Then he walks away.

"What happened to Wilson's hands?" Cameron wondered.

"He tripped over his own feet and landed in a thorn bush. It was hilarious. I recorded it and I'm going to upload it to YouTube to embarrass him." House answered. "You're not at all curious what gift I bring you in a pet carrier?"

"I assume it's a cat or a small dog." Chase responded.

"And you would be a moron." House said. He turns the pet carrier so that front end faces the team. "Need you to test its blood."

"A skunk…" Cameron said in disgust at the sight of the animal inside the pet carrier. She backs away.

"The scent glands were removed." House stated. "It's a pet."

"We've been running tests all day long." Foreman stated.

"And you'll be running tests all night, I assume." House said.

"All the scans were clean." Chase said. "No clots, no tumors…"

"Which only goes to prove Foreman's brain tumor theory was a lame diagnosis." House commented.

"Apparently, the doctors at Bethesda Naval hospital aren't as idiotic as you thought." Chase stated. "Our results have been pretty consistent with theirs."

"We also have no explanation for the blood the patient spewed from his mouth during the MRI." Foreman added. "We checked for a leak but found nothing."

"From the results we have so far, there's nothing wrong with him." Cameron said.

"I doubt the patient's daughter will accept a diagnosis of Nothing's-wrong-atosis." House said. "Something is obviously wrong with him." He pauses for a moment in order to think. "Call me if you find anything. I'm going home. And when you're done with the skunk, put it in my office."

House walks away, leaving the team to process the goodies left behind.

In Gibbs' hospital room, he lies in the dimly lit room trying to fall asleep but cannot. He gently caresses Julianna's back as she's lying on the bed next to him with her arm thrown around him and her head on his chest. And Jamie is sleeping on a nearby chair with six-year-old Chioke.

Eventually, Tony enters into the room.

"Shhh…" Gibbs said softly. "She's finally asleep." He stops caressing Julianna's back and lays his arm around her. Tony quietly pulls a chair close to the bed and sits down. "How's your nose?"

"It's still kind of sore." Tony responded. "As is the rest of my face."

"You know I didn't mean to attack you the other day."

"Yeah, I know."

There's a brief moment of silence between them as Gibbs realizes something is on Tony's mind.

"Whatever you want to say, just say it." Gibbs said.

"All my life I never really felt like I had a father." Tony said. "Sure I have a father, but he never felt like one. He was always consumed with his Civil Wars re-enactment. He would rather spend time with his Civil War buddies or at the country club than spend time with me. My fatherless childhood is why I watched so much TV and movies. I had nothing else to do because no one wanted to spend time with me." A couple tears escape from Tony's eyes. "I tried so hard for my parents to notice me, especially my father. But there was nothing I could do. Then I met you…" He continued. "You always felt like a father to me. You look out for me. You…"

"Tony, I…"

"Why don't you want me to call you Dad?" Tony wondered as he wipes the tears from his eyes. "When a man marries a woman, the man usually calls his wife's father, dad, and the mother, mom. And the wife usually does the same with the husband's parents. But every time I try, you don't accept it. Why?"

"Tony, it's…"

"You know what…" Tony begins to say in order to express himself as the dominate person of the conversation. "I don't care what you say. I'm going to call you dad whether you like it or not."

"Good for you, DiNozzo. It's about time."

"What do you mean it's about time?"

"I never wanted you to not call me dad. I just didn't want you to care what I said about saying no to it. We've always had a work relationship. But since you're married to my daughter, we also have a personal one." Gibbs stated. "I can teach you work boundaries. But personal boundaries are different. It was always you who needed to set the boundaries of the personal relationship. It was you who needed to figure out that the two relationships are actually different. So good for you."

"Thanks, Dad." Tony said with a smile.

The two of them continue to talk quietly as Jamie and the children sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

***Tuesday***

***Chapter 6***

After talking with his team about the patient's current condition and course of treatment, House walks into his office to think. The symptoms don't seem to make sense. But neither does the patient's daughter having a pet skunk.

"What are you looking at?" House asked of the skunk in his office. The animal just looks at him as if it wants something. "I'm not going to pet you." He turns the TV on, sits in the chair and pops a Vicodin pill into his mouth.

Minutes later, Chioke approaches the room. House watches as the young boy struggles to open the door so he can get inside. Once inside the room, the skunk eagerly walks to him to be petted. Chioke happily pets his pet skunk.

Eventually, the young boy walks to the desk where House is sitting. Chioke stands there looking at the TV. Then he looks at House.

"I'm not putting cartoons on." House said. "If you want cartoons, then go home." There's no response from the boy. "Why would you want a pet skunk anyway?" The boy shrugs his shoulders and doesn't say a word. "You don't talk much." The boy shakes his head from side to side. "Are mommy and daddy violating you? Maybe it's just daddy touching your naughty place."

'Not know what you mean.' Chioke signed with his hands.

"You're a mute." House said in recognition of sign language. "I don't know sign language. Even if I did I wouldn't want to waste my time signing when I'm uninterested in conversing with you. Too much hand movement makes me nauseous."

Chioke takes out his little notepad and a pen. He begins to write. Then he shows House.

"Why can't you speak?" House changes the subject from what Chioke wrote because it's what interests him since the boy isn't leaving. The boy writes in his notepad then shows it him. "You were shot…"

Chioke lifts his chin to show the scar left behind from the bullet he took in the neck when he was four years old. House's hand reaches forward to examine the boy's neck.

"I can fix this." House stated. The boy writes in his notepad then shows it to him. "You would rather not be able to speak, to not communicate with everyone else… Why? Why would you want the majority of the population to never be able to understand you?" The boy writes in his notepad again. "That's not a rational reason for going through your entire life unable to speak. You're young. Your mind can't comprehend what a disadvantage being mute will be."

Jamie enters into the room.

"Is Chioke bothering you, Dr. House?" Jamie asked.

"No, he's not." House answered. "It's actually nice not hearing the voice of a person who is most likely going to ask me what's wrong with her father."

"I can take the hint. I won't ask." Jamie said.

"Your skunk's blood, urine and pooh are clean." House stated. "The skunk isn't the cause of your father's problem. Neither is anything else in either of your homes."

"The urine and pooh are easy to get, but how did you get a sample of Mufasa's blood?" Jamie wondered.

"Wilson violated your skunk. Let's just say he really really loves animals." House commented. He looks to Chioke. "Yes, violated. Ask your mom what it means." Then he looks at Jamie. "You named the skunk after a Lion King character?"

"Aahhh!" Jamie jumps after something brushing against her leg. She looks down and realizes their pet skunk is here. "Nice, you stole Mufasa."

"Or maybe Wilson didn't violate it. Maybe we just brought it here to get the blood sample." House said. "Or that could just be my pet skunk."

'Not yours.' Chioke signed with his hands. He lifts the pet into his arms and walks to the other side of the room.

"Chioke named all his pets after Lion King characters. It's his favorite movie." Jamie said. "The lobster is Simba. The iguanas are Timon and Pumbaa. And the skunk is Mufasa."

"Fascinating, really." House commented sarcastically. A beep sounds. He checks his pager. "Go be with your dad. There's a problem."

"Can you watch…" Jamie begins to say.

"Just go."

Jamie runs out the door leaving Chioke in the care of House. After the patient's daughter leaving the room, House looks at Chioke whom it's obvious he was adopted.

"What country in Africa are you from?" House asked. The boy writes in his notepad about how he doesn't know how to spell his country's name. "At least you know what letter it starts with. Nigeria?" The boy nods. House leans forward as he might finally have an answer as to what is wrong with the patient. "It's very important you give me an answer to the next question. Are you from the Borno province?"

With Gibbs' liver in the beginning stage of failing and eventually shutting down, House and Chioke enter into the hospital room. House immediately states a diagnosis.

"It explains everything." House stated. "We need to start treatment as soon as we confirm. But in order to confirm, I need to give your son a dangerous test."

"Why do you want to test my son?" Tony demanded to know.

"Because he's from the Borno province of Nigeria." House answered with a lie; Chioke never gave an answer because he doesn't know what province he's from. "There's a parasite indigenous to a remote region of the province. The locals are naturally immune to it. But they can act as carriers. Your son could be a carrier. It's faster to confirm if I test the original host. If we wait for results from… Whatever his name is…" He points at the patient his cane. "…Then you might as well buy a coffin now because he'll already be dead by the time the results come in." He continued. "Normally I'd just start the treatment, but the treatment itself is very dangerous and I need Cuddy to sign off on it. So I need the confirmation first."

"I'm the only one who is sick." Gibbs stated. "Neither my daughter or my son-in-law have any symptoms."

"There are various factors involved which may not allow the parasite to live properly in either of them." House said. "For one, she has boobs. The parasite only hates males. Wouldn't surprise me if females created the parasite to kill off the male species." He added. "Your age makes you a much more viable infectee. And apparently the parasite only affects white people. Talk about a racist parasite."

"I need to speak with you, Dr. House." Jamie said in an agitated tone of voice after seeing the expression on Chioke's face.

Jamie and House leave the room. The door closes behind them.

"How dare you make my son feel this is his fault!" Jamie exclaimed. "You don't know he's from the Borno province. There's no way you can know because Chioke himself doesn't know. The only one who knows what province he's from is Arthur."

"The parasite fits all the symptoms. It explains everything." House said. "Call this Arthur person and find out before your father is brought back to DC in a box."

House walks away, leaving Jamie to make the phone-call and think about the possibility that Chioke might be the reason for her father's illness.


	7. Chapter 7

***Chapter 7***

Tony paces back and forth in the waiting area just outside Gibbs' room while House's team performs a routine procedure. The anxiety he feels lifts at the sight of McGee approaching.

"Probie!!!" Tony exclaimed in excitement. "It's good to see you…" He embraces McGee with a hug.

"Uh…" McGee said as the hug is unexpected. "It's good to see you too."

"I always knew you would come back to NCIS." Tony said as he backs away a bit.

"I'm not returning."

"Sure you are."

"No I'm not. And don't call me Probie anymore." McGee stated. "I'm really not returning to NCIS. I'm here for moral support."

"Not returning. You keep telling yourself that, Probilicious." Tony puts his arm around McGee's shoulder. "Walk with me." They begin to walk down the hall and Tony starts telling him about a movie that fits the situation.

While Tony is torturing McGee with movie references, Jamie enters into House's office.

"I spoke to Arthur. There's no way you're giving my son a dangerous test." Jamie stated. "Chioke has never been to the Borno province. Nor has he ever been close to it. My son was born in the Kebbi province which is on the other side of Nigeria. The closest he's ever been to Borno is the Plateau province. And that's three provinces away."

"The symptoms fit with the parasite." House said. "He could've contracted it from someone who…"

"Stop it." Jamie demanded. "You're just going to have to do better. Think of something else."

"You would rather your father die than to admit the slightest possibility that your son may have contracted the parasite from another carrier? Are you that naïve and insecure? Of course you are…" House said. There's a brief pause as he stands up and walks to Jamie to be face to face. "In life, you can meet people who seem perfectly fine and happy, yet, have no idea just how broken, shattered and destroyed they actually are."

"How dare you read my diary." Jamie said in an irritated tone. "My diary had no medical relevance."

"You should've expected it to be relevant to me. You come here yesterday with knowledge about who I am. Of course that sparked my interest. Then I find out Wilson used to know your foster family which makes it all the more interesting. You wrote that entry the week after remembering everything about your father. Eleven years of amnesia about who you truly were. Everything you knew was a lie. It must have sucked to remember everything about a past life. To believe your biological father abandoned you. Your diary is vividly detailed about how alone and unloved you felt." There's a brief pause. "But he never abandoned you. He never knew you were still alive. Yet, to this day you still have the insecurity of abandonment issues..."

"Stop. Just stop."

"The problem is, your father's liver isn't going to last long enough for me to run the test on him."

"You're not touching my son." Jamie stated. "I'm a perfect match. You can take half of my liver and put it in my father. It should buy you some time to run the test on him."

"Either turn around, turn to the side, or pick up the trash can." House said as he notices something about Jamie.

"Why?"

"Cause I don't want you to puke on me."

Jamie turns to the side, leans down and vomits onto the floor. The smell of the vomit sickens House, especially since it was done in his office.

"At least now Mufasa has food." House said as he backs away.

"What's wrong with me? I feel sick." Jamie said as she looks up toward him with a sick feeling consuming her.

Jamie and House make their way to a private room with an Ultrasound machine. Once inside, House draws the curtain as she lies down on the hospital bed. He sits down, pops a pill and prepares the equipment. With Jamie's abdomen exposed, House squirts a gel onto it.

"It's cold." Jamie said about the gel. Then the handheld device touches her abdomen and House moves it around.

"Congratulations. You're the proud owner of two tumors." House said as he looks at the ultrasound monitor.

"I have tumors…" Jamie said in shock, worry and concern.

"They'll each grow, have two feet, two hands, become teenage nightmares and cost you a fortune." House stated. "Your life is over until you kick them out at the age of eighteen."

"I'm pregnant with twins." Jamie said in happiness. She and Tony have been trying to get pregnant again after Jamie's uterus healing after the loss of the first baby. The happiness is overwhelming to the point of her eyes engulfing with tears.

"Tumors." House corrected her. "They'll suck the life from you." He added. "But this also means you can't be a donor."

"I can't donate…" Jamie said in the realization of what being pregnant means for the liver donation.

"Not unless we terminate the tumors."

"Why do you keep calling them tumors?"

"My patient is lying in another room in dire need of a dangerous treatment for a parasite which is going to kill him but I cannot confirm. I can't test the child. And I can't test the patient unless I get half a liver." House said. "Referring to your tumors as tumors defetusizes them… Is that even a word; defetusize? No matter. I need half a liver." There's a brief pause. "Here are your choices… One, let me test your son. Two, terminate your tumors and give me half your liver to buy me enough time that I can test your father. Or three, do nothing and let your father die. Either way, all the choices suck in your perspective."

"Jamie…" Tony said as he enters into the room. "I've been looking all over for you. McGee is here and he's…" He stops mid-sentence after seeing the expression on his wife's face. "What's wrong?"

"I'll leave you two alone." House said as he stands up and walks away. "I'm sure you have things to discuss."

Tony sits down next to Jamie.

For Jamie, the upcoming conversation with her husband will prove to wield the hardest decision for both of them. A tremendous amount of weight is on her shoulders. But a decision must be made because time is running out. Her father's life depends on the possibility that Chioke may be a carrier of the parasite.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: **I apologize for the delay in getting this chapter posted. I've been very distracted by several things, not just MySpace apps. Just got a lot on my mind.

**------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

***Chapter 8***

After a long conversation between Jamie and Tony about what to do in regard to the choices, they make a decision as couple.

"So we're in agreement." Jamie said.

"Yeah." Tony said.

While sitting on the hospital bed, their hands slowly reach for the other's hand. The comforting feel of each other's warm hand fills them both with a sense of accomplishment in their decision making as a couple. None of the choices were good. And neither of them is happy, but they had to choose.

They exit from the hospital room while gripping onto each other's hand. All they have to do is find Dr. House in his office and tell him what they decided to do.

House looks up from behind his desk as Jamie and her husband enter into the room. From their body language, he can tell they've come to a conclusion about the choices. He sits up and waits for them to state their decision as to how they want to proceed.

"I'm guessing you made a decision." House said to get things moving along.

"We have." Jamie stated.

"Nothing is going to make it easier." House said. "All of the choices sucked. So you might as well just tell me what you decided."

"We decided to…" Tony begins to say.

House's pager sounds causing Tony to stop mid-sentence as he checks it. After checking the pager, he grabs his cane and stands up.

"There's a problem." House stated.

"Problem…?" Jamie wondered what's wrong with her father this time.

They all head to the elevator while Jamie practically clings to Tony for comfort.

The three of them enter into a little hallway room right outside the O.R. They turn left and walk up the stairs to the observation room. Once in the room, House attentively looks down at his team opening up the patient.

"What's going on?" Jamie demanded to know. "Why is my father in surgery?"

"They're trying to locate the source of your father's internal bleeding so they can stop it." House replied. "The parasite…" He begins to say as he looks at the monitor for a closer view of the surgery. Something he sees on the monitor catches his eye and causes him to stop his train of thought.

"So it's the parasite doing this." Tony said.

"No, it's not." House said with certainty.

House exit from the observation room and walks down the stairs. Once at the bottom of the stairs, he pops a Vicodin pill. Then he enters into the O.R. A nurse quickly puts a gown on him.

"House, what are you doing?" Foreman wondered why his boss is intruding into the surgery.

"I thought I saw you trying to steal an organ." House stated as he approaches the patient. "Don't worry, it has nothing to do with you being black."

House carefully moves the patient's stomach to the side in order to expose the pancreas. On the pancreas is damage that doesn't fit with the Nigerian parasite. The bruising and discoloration is cause for concern since House's only theory is indefinitely thrown out the window now.

"The Nigerian parasite didn't cause that damage." Cameron said in the shock of what the exposed area of the pancreas looks like.

"If we were playing state the obvious, then you would've won." House commented. He moves the stomach back to its place. "Get me a biopsy." Then he walks away.

Jamie and Tony walk down the stairs as House enters into the little hallway area.

"Your father's pancreas has some damage to it. We're getting a biopsy." House stated. "The team is also closing the bleed so you don't have to annoy me about that." He added. "So I have some good and some bad news; other bad news then the bad news I just told you about his damaged pancreas. Which would you like to hear first?"

"The good news." Jamie sighed as she doesn't want to play any games.

"The good news is… Your father's condition has nothing to do with the Nigerian parasite."

"And the bad news?"

"The bad news is…" There's a brief pause as House sighs in wonderment of the case. "I have no idea what's wrong with him."

House walks away leaving Tony and Jamie wondering what the next step will be.

"Wait…" Jamie runs after House who is already halfway down the hall. "What does this mean in regard to my father's liver?"

"It means testing your son for something we know it isn't would be a stupid, useless, painful test for the child." House said. "But now I have no idea what's wrong with your father. And to top it off I still need half a liver to buy me time to figure out what's wrong. So now there really is no choice for you except for the termination of your tumors." There's a brief pause. "Before we were interrupted, the two of you were about to tell me your decision. What was the decision anyway?"

"The decision was…"

"House!" Chase exclaimed as he exits into the hallway.

"Ugh…" House sighed due to the second interruption of something he's actually interested in. "Can't you see I'm talking to… Umm…"

"Jamie." Jamie said.

"Yeah… Talking to Jamie about her father's condition." House said. "Cameron always says I avoid contact with patients and their families. That I'd be a better person if I interact with people who are sick, need comfort and will most likely annoy me. I'm just trying to get in touch with my sensitivity and caring. But go ahead… Interrupt my progress."

"Wilson called. The latest results of the liver function test came in." Chase stated. "Jethro's liver is functioning properly. May not be functioning one hundred percent, but it's not failing like it was before."

"A magically self-healing liver. How interesting…" House said. He then looks to Jamie. "You're in luck. Looks like you get to keep your tumors. They'll still suck the life from you and cost you a fortune."

"And I'm okay with that."

"Congratulations on being pregnant." House said. There's a brief pause. "I need to think."

House walks away because the case has taken a strange turn with the damage to the pancreas and the liver which is now not failing.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note: **I humbly apologize for the delay. It's been a perfect storm of personal stuff, myspace apps addiction and writer's block lately. I'll try to update faster.

**------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

***Chapter 9***

After the surgery to repair Gibbs' internal bleeding and the discovery of the mysterious bruising on the Pancreas, House sits alone in his office thinking. He stares diligently at the white board in an effort to make sense of the entire list of symptoms. The pill bottle on sitting at the edge of desk catches his eye due to the pain he feels in his leg. House grabs the pill bottle and places his free hand on the lid in order to open it. His eyes maneuver back to the white board and his hand stops; leaving the lid securely fastened.

The pill bottle flies across the room and lands on the floor where Mufasa, Chioke's pet skunk, begins to play with it.

House leans forward in his chair, slowly twirls his cane and continues staring at the white board.

Gibbs' eyes slowly open as he lies on the bed in his hospital room. Jamie is sitting on the bed next to her father.

"I was wondering when you were going to wake up." Jamie said with a smile. "How are you feeling?"

"Alright…"

"I was going to wait until later to tell you something. But I can't wait." Jamie said. "The doctors still haven't figured out what's wrong. I'm scared, yes. But if anything were to happen to you, I'd first want you to know that I'm… Well, I'm pregnant."

"It's mine?" Gibbs wondered in the confusion of why the woman before him is telling him she's pregnant.

"What…? No… That would be…" Jamie begins to say before realizing something is wrong in her father's body language and the answer he gave. "What year do you think this is?"

"It's 2003." Gibbs answered. "Who are you?"

Jamie knows it's just the intermittent memory loss, but her father not recognizing her still breaks her heart. She turns her head slightly to the left and a single tear escape from her eye; a tear that remains hidden from her father.

Julianna gallops into the hospital room.

In knowing what Julianna went through with losing her family, Jamie quickly gets off the bed. Jamie knows she needs to get the young girl out of the room in order to protect her feelings. Gibbs not recognizing the young girl he's trying to get full custody of would be devastating to the girl.

"Jethro is doing fine." Jamie quickly grabs Julianna's hand. "We should let him rest though. Come on, we'll go down to the cafeteria for a bite to eat. Tony and Chioke are down there."

"Okay." Julianna said. "See you in a while, Jethro. Love you." She waves.

Gibbs waves back, even though he has no idea who the young girl is or the woman. He doesn't even know why he's in the hospital to begin with.

The two of them walk in the direction of the elevator. Jamie notices Dr. Cameron at the nurse's station.

"Go look at the fish, Jules. I need to speak with Dr. Cameron." Jamie said to the young girl.

"Okay." Julianna said. She walks to the side to where the fish tank is located.

Jamie takes a deep breath and walks toward Dr. Cameron who is busy looking over a file at the nurse's station.

"Dr. Cameron…" Jamie tries to get her attention.

"Yes?" Cameron wondered.

"My father is currently experiencing another episode of memory loss. He thinks it's 2003."

"Thank you letting me know." Cameron said. "The amount of memory lost during each episode seems to be increasing. This could be another clue."

"I'm starting to lose faith in Dr. House."

"I wish I could tell you everything will be fine. I wish I could tell you House will definitely figure out what's wrong with your father. Unfortunately, I cannot tell you that." Cameron said. "What I can tell you is… House hasn't given up. He never does."

"I just hope he figures it out before it's too late." Jamie said.

Jamie walks away. She and Julianna walk to the elevator as Dr. Cameron enters into Gibbs' hospital room.

"I heard you…" Cameron begins to say.

"Who was that lady that was in here just now?" Gibbs quickly interrupted her.

"Jamie. She's your daughter."

"My daughter was named Kelly. She died a long time ago." Gibbs stated. "Whoever this Jamie is… She's not my daughter."

Cameron explains the situation as best she can to him. As Cameron explains, Gibbs doesn't fully understand due to how unbelievable it sounds. So many questions are left answered in his mind. Yet, with the little explanation Cameron is able to produce, he senses a familiarity to Jamie and believes Cameron when she says Jamie is his daughter; especially since she bears resemblance to his dead wife Shannon.

"Good evening." Chase said upon entering into the room. "Time for another blood test." He places the blood test kit on the bed. "And we're going to try a different antibiotic."

As Chase changes the antibiotic bag with the new medication, Cameron reaches to the blood test kit. She pulls it toward the far side of the bed, the left side. She first wraps a band around Gibbs' upper arm then and swabs the arm with alcohol in order to clean the area.

Cameron takes the syringe and presses it to the vein of the elbow. She carefully pokes the needle through the skin and into the vein. But something unexpected happens.

"What in the…" Cameron pulls back in the shock.

"What's the problem?" Chase wondered.

"The vein moved." Cameron stated as she looks in his direction; taking her eyes off the patient's arm. "I poked it and it moved."

"Veins don't just move on their own. They don't move period."

"I swear. The vein moved."

"Let me see…" Chase walks around the hospital bed.

"Should I be worried about this?" Gibbs asked.

"It's nothing to be concerned about." Chase assured him. "It's probably nothing. Don't worry." He steps close to Cameron. "Show me."

Cameron sticks a new syringe into the patient's arm and pokes the vein; what she believes is what she poked before taking her eyes away from it. There's no motion.

"See..." Chase said. "Veins don't magically move. Jethro probably just moved his arm when he felt the pinch."

"I don't recall if I did or not." Gibbs stated.

"I guess you're right." Cameron chuckled at the very idea of magically moving vein she thought she saw.

After taking the sample of blood, Cameron and Chase leave the room.

A yawn escapes from Gibbs' mouth. Keeping his eyes open seems to be a chore due to being overly tired. So he shuts his eyes in order to go to sleep.

While Gibbs falls asleep, a little bulge protrudes from the area of his left elbow due to something being there underneath the skin. The bulge slowly slithers up the arm before disappearing near the shoulder. The only question is; what's alive inside of Gibbs? And will it be discovered before it kills him?


	10. Chapter 10

***Wednesday***

***Chapter 10***

Back in Washington DC, Jared Lucas Gibbs sits in the office of Geoffrey Benson's mansion. He types away at the computer in search of any more secrets the late Geoffrey Benson might know.

Alex, Geoffrey Benson's most trusted associate, opens the door to the room and walks inside. The sight of Alex catches Jared's attention; he quickly closes what he's doing on the computer.

"I want to speak with Mr. Benson." Alex demanded as he approaches the desk.

"Don't we all." Jared replied. "You know damn well Geoffrey is lying low out of the country after that whole funhouse incident."

"It's convenient how you took over in Mr. Benson's absence. It seems a little suspicious."

"Are you suggesting I killed Geoffrey and took over his operation for my own selfish agenda?" Jared asked. He cracks a sinister smile at the sight of Alex's body language to the question. "Oh lighten up…" He said. "If it'll put you at ease, I'll setup a chat between you and him on the secured line."

"Let's make one thing clear..." Alex begins to say as he places his hands onto the desk and leans forward in an intimidating manner. "The strings Mr. Benson thinks he's dangling you from…"

Jared quickly jolts upward from the chair. A knife thrusts into Alex's hand, pinning him to the desk. Then Jared grabs Alex and slams his head down onto the desk.

"Let's make one thing clear…" Jared begins to say as he maneuvers to the front of the desk while keeping Alex's head pinned to it. Once in better positioning, he pulls Alex back and puts him in a headlock. "The only puppet was Geoffrey Benson. And I say that in the past tense cause Geoffrey is no longer among us." He stated softly into Alex's ear. "It was me who killed his son Wade to start that war between him and the Crows. I used that war as a means to disguise the elimination of any of Geoffrey's people who would oppose or even question me. You're the only remaining thorn in my side. I can't have you snooping around trying to figure out what I'm doing. I have an agenda to protect. And that agenda doesn't include you."

In one quick powerful thrust, Alex's neck breaks. Jared leaves the dead body dangling from the desk still pinned up by the knife. He sits back down and continues searching through the secret files on the computer.

Now, Jared has full control over Mr. Benson's criminal organization without having to concern himself with anyone possibly questioning, snooping around or even exposing him. The loyalty of Mr. Benson's unquestioning deceived lackeys is all part of the agenda and will eventually be the pawns in his intricate game. As was the specimen Jared stole from Pharsbrook Pharmaceutical Company and injecting it into his brother. All the pieces are falling into place perfectly.

Dr. Foreman enters into House's office where he's sitting at the desk feeding Chioke's pet skunk.

"By the demeanor of your entry into the room I'd say you have information of the utmost importance to tell me." House said. "Either that or you've come to talk about your personal feelings in which I'm just not interested."

"You need to see the results of the Pancreas biopsy." Foreman stated upon approaching the desk. He hands the results to House.

"This isn't right." House said at the sight of the unexpected results. "Schedule an OR. I need to see the patient's Pancreas again."

Not too long after Foreman leaving the office, Dr. Cuddy enters into the room. House looks up from his desk as he continues to feed the skunk pieces of hash browns.

"You can't just open up a patient to poke around his Pancreas for a second time." Cuddy stated. "You got up close and personal with the patient's Pancreas yesterday. You have the operation video and the biopsy results. What more do you need?"

"The Pancreas and I didn't get to share our most intimate experiences with each other." House commented.

"You're not opening up the patient again without giving me medical evidence to support a reason for…"

"This is my patient."

"This is my hospital."

House grabs the skunk from his desk where the animal is continuing to eat the hash browns. He turns the skunk around, holds it in Cuddy's direction and lifts the tail.

"I have a skunk and I'm not afraid to use it." House stated.

"You can't threaten me with a skunk that doesn't have scent glands." Cuddy said. "Give me medical evidence to support needing to poke around the patient's Pancreas again. Until you do, feed the kid's skunk. And change its litter."

Cuddy walks away and leaves the office. House turns the skunk around, holds it up and looks directly into its eyes.

"If you no longer scare Cuddy then what's the point of having you around?" House said to the skunk. The furry animal just looks at him and tilts its head slightly to the right. "Don't try to look innocent."

House places the skunk back onto the desk. The animal walks to where the Styrofoam food container from the cafeteria is. Before House can even sit back down, the skunk continues eating.

"Save some for me." House said. He grabs one of the hash browns that the skunk is chomping on. After taking a large bite from it, he sets it back down for the animal. As the skunk eats, House leans back, opens his pill bottle and pops a pill into his mouth. Then he looks to the right toward the white board where the list of symptoms remains since yesterday. A deep breath escapes from House's mouth as he keeps trying to figure out the complexity of the symptoms.

A couple minutes pass.

Jamie enters into House's office.

"I need you to do me a favor." Jamie said upon sitting down.

"We can find privacy in the sleep lab." House commented. He notices Jamie glaring at him. "Oh, you weren't referring to a sexual favor. In that case, go on with whatever uninteresting thing you're going to say."

"I need you to lie to a social worker about my father's condition." Jamie stated. "Julianna, the eight-year-old girl, lost her entire family. My father is trying become her legal guardian. He's still in a trial phase with only temporary custody. Due to particular circumstances, he had to sign a release form to…"

"I don't care." House stated. "Your father's personal life, love for a parentless child, circumstances of his particular adoption process, yada yada yada, is none of my concern. The only thing I'm concerned about is figuring out what's killing him."

"I know about Stacy Warner." Jamie said. "I know what happened and why. I'm willing to take a bet you never actually forgave her for the decision she made to save your life. It must be difficult for you to acknowledge the fact that you screwed up the one thing you…"

"I don't need to be Dr. Philed about my personal life by a patient's daughter. Especially by someone who…"

"You should call her." Jamie said. "You need to forgive her." She stands up and walks toward the door.

"I'll figure out what's wrong with your father." House stated.

"I just hope you figure it out before it's too late."

As Jamie approaches the door in order to leave, House makes a snap decision.

"Doctors sometimes forget to write information down. Sometimes they even write down the wrong diagnosis." House stated. "Mistakes happen when filing. No system is perfect."

"Thank you." Jamie acknowledged House's willingness to falsify medical documents.

Jamie leaves the room; leaving House to think. As he thinks about the patient's condition, he starts thinking about Stacy and how Jamie is right about needing to forgive her.


	11. Chapter 11

***Chapter 11***

Jamie enters into the cafeteria on her search for McGee who she spots on the line putting breakfast onto his tray. As McGee opens the mini refrigerator, Jamie approaches.

"I've been looking for you, Tim." Jamie said.

"I'm hiding." McGee said.

"Ha…" Jamie chuckled slightly. "Hiding from Tony. I understand."

"Every time I see him he always talks about me returning to NCIS. It's becoming really annoying at this point. I'm not returning to NCIS. He just doesn't seem to get it through his thick…"

"It's his way of expressing that he misses you."

"Well, Tony missing me is annoying." McGee said. "You want anything?"

"The blueberry yogurt." Jamie answered. "Thank you."

McGee grabs a blueberry yogurt and an orange juice before closing the door to the mini refrigerator. They approach the short line for the cash register.

"I just wish he would stop." McGee said in reference to what Tony always talks about.

"I don't want to pry in your business, but what have you thought about doing now?" Jamie wondered.

"I don't know yet." McGee answered. "I'm still on disability due to my shoulder."

"Yeah, I notice you seem to have a hard time moving it."

"At least all the surgeries are done with. My doctor said I should regain full movement of my arm within a couple months. I just have to keep up with my physical therapy so the tendons don't…"

"That'll be $8.50." The cashier said after ringing up everything on McGee's tray. He hands her the money.

"I'm glad you're here, Jamie." McGee said as the two of them walk to find an empty table. "I've been meaning to talk to you about something." They sit down at one of the empty tables in the back. "My therapist mentioned something the other day that made a lot of sense to me. I still feel this overwhelming fear, particularly at night when it's dark. When we were trapped in that funhouse, I depended on you to get me through it… And I… I don't know. I guess I'm still depending on you to get me through this fear I still feel."

"Tim…" Jamie reaches her hand across the table and gently places it on his. "I will help you as best I can. I'll be there for you as I was when we were trapped." She said with a smile. Then she pulls her hand back. "What happened was my fault anyway. You should've never been there."

"It's nobody's fault."

"No, it is my fault. If you weren't out helping me choose all the computer parts I need to build my own PC then…"

"What do you that supped up PC for anyway?"

"Abby and I play this MMORPG where she constantly kicks my ass all over the place because my computer lags, is kind of slow and…"

"Ha…" McGee laughs. He covers his mouth and tries to hold in the laughter. "I never thought you would be into video games."

"I wasn't until Abby got me into it one day when we should've been working instead of playing." There's a brief pause as Jamie thinks. "You're a good friend, Tim. I hope whatever you're going through is something I can help you with. I'm here for you no matter what. I'll back you on wherever you decide to go from here." She said with a smile.

"Thanks Jamie." McGee said. "I appreciate it."

"And I'll try to keep Tony in check."

"Good luck with that one."

Jamie's cell-phone rings.

"Excuse me." Jamie said as she leaves the table, walks away and opens the phone in order to answer it. "Hello…"

"I have vital information to save your father's life." A voice stated.

"Who is this?"

"Who I am is unimportant. What I can give you is what's important." The voice replied. "I cannot divulge specifics or even much information about it. But what I can tell you is that your father was injected with a biological organism, a parasite. It wreaks havoc inside the host, grows rapidly and reproduces. Your father is probably infected with several of them. In order to save your father, the parasitic worms must be removed before they cause permanent damage…"

"I don't…"

"If you need proof, the injection site is a small crevasse in the belly button. Spread the skin apart to expose it." The voice said. "Or you can always have the doctor give your father a high concentration of Folic acid, also known as Vitamin B9. The worms will absorb the Folic acid. Wait thirty minutes then inject the patient with an iodine contrast material. The high concentration of Folic acid causes the worms to need iodine in order to survive. It's a fail-safe. The worms will then light up like Christmas trees in any contrast machine. But the worms must be removed from the host or else their dead bodies will release a deadly toxin. So it's best to remove them while they're alive." The voice continued. "Your father's life lies in your decision on what to do with the information I've given you."

Jared Lucas Gibbs closes the secured phone, ending the conversation.

"It's a shame such a beautiful biological weapon won't be completed, or ever really used." Jared said to himself about Pharsbrook Pharmaceutical Company's secret experiment with its genetically altered parasitic worm with Folic acid fail-safe. After chuckling evilly for a couple seconds, he re-opens the phone with the attached voice modifier and dials another number. A secretary on the other line picks up and states a formal greeting. "Hi. I'd like to speak to Curtis Franklin, please."

"May I ask what this concerns?" The secretary asked.

"Just tell him CI Gallagher has Intel of the utmost importance. I do apologize for the break in procedure, but this cannot wait." Jared said, using the codename Gallagher which is one of Franklin's confidential informants who Jared is impersonating for his own evil purpose.

"One moment… Please hold." The secretary said.

As Jared is on hold trying to reach the person he needs to contact to proceed in his agenda, Jamie runs out of the cafeteria. McGee is left sitting at the table wondering why Jamie is in such a hurry.

Jamie enters into House's office in haste. The rushing intrusion of the patient's daughter into the room interests House.

"I know what's wrong with my father." Jamie stated.

"So you went to medical school, earned a degree specializing in infectious disease and somehow managed to gain years of experience in an hour." House commented. "If I knew it was that easy I wouldn't have wasted the time…"

"It's a parasite. We need to remove…"

"I'm guessing you completely missed my previous comment about the medical degree stuff."

"I received a phone-call. The person on the other line told me we need to remove the worms before they cause permanent damage. Give my father a high concentration of Folic acid, and then inject him with an iodine contrast material thirty minutes later. The Folic acid causes the parasites to absorb the iodine. Afterwards, stick him in a contrast machine, MRI or whatever you use for contrast images. The parasitic worms will light up like Christmas trees."

"Do you even hear yourself?" House wondered. "Maybe I should just refer you to the psych ward."

"I know it sounds crazy."

"Folic acid doesn't…"

"Humor me. Please." She said. "Just one measly little crazy test. That's all I'm asking for."

"You're determination for me to do a pointless test is intriguing."

House stands up, grabs his cane and walks toward the door. Jamie follows. They enter into the patient's room a couple minutes later.

"Your daughter seems to think you have some type of magical parasites inside you." House stated upon entering into the room.

"You're not going to do the test are you?" Jamie asked.

"The symptoms don't fit with…"

"I trust my daughter." Gibbs stated.

"Your daughter is desperate for any type of explanation for your condition." House said. "There's no medical evidence to suggest…" He stops upon noticing something strange on the patient; a little bulge in an area close to the base of the neck. "Hold still." He said as he approaches the bed. The little bulge is hardly noticeable but to House's keen eye, it just struck him. House pokes at the bulge with his finger. "Huh, it's probably nothing. I'll biopsy it just in case."

House walks to the side, unlocks the cabinet drawer and takes out a syringe. He returns to the patient and rubs the little bulge and surrounding area with alcohol. Then he sticks the needle into the little bulge. The bulge moves and House pulls back.

"Turn over, turn over!" House yelled at Gibbs.

Gibbs complies and quickly turns onto his side to expose his back. House quickly unties the hospital gown and opens it up. The shock of what House sees leaves him speechless. The little bulge is moving underneath the patient's skin and down his back.

"Oh my God…" Jamie said in astonishment.

The bulge finally stops in the middle of Gibbs' back. House walks to the cabinet again. After pulling the drawer open, he grabs a scalpel and a jar. He approaches the patient's bedside.

"Hold still." House said.

"What are you doing?!" Jamie exclaimed.

"I need to see this." House said as he grabs the bulge with three fingers of his left hand to prevent the worm from escaping.

Jamie turns her head as House uses the scalpel to cut her father's skin. Blood quickly begins to flow.

"Ah…" Gibbs cried as the scalpel cuts him. "You could've at least numbed the area first."

"You're free to sue me for malpractice." House commented.

After cutting a large enough area, House folds the skin over. Blood flows out of the newly opened wound like the tears of a child whose favorite toy was taken away. The exposed worm squirms as it tries to break free from House's grip on it. He puts the scalpel down, grabs the worm and pulls it out. After putting the worm into the jar, he looks at Jamie.

"Looks like your trip to the psych ward isn't going to happen after all." House said. "Apply pressure to the wound. I need to schedule an emergency OR." He continued. "I'll send nurse in with Folic acid."

House leaves the room with the jar in hand as he wonders what exactly is in the jar to begin with. The worm inside the jar wiggles and squirms in an effort to escape its entrapment.

Jamie quickly puts latex gloves on and applies pressure to the wound House created on her father's back. She gazes happily at her father with the knowledge of all that needs to be done is to remove the parasitic worms.


	12. Chapter 12

***Chapter 12***

As one of the most interesting surgeries is about commence, House sits alone in his office looking at the worm in the jar. The hideously ugly seven inch long creature squirms inside the jar as it tries to climb the side using its six little legs located at its upper body.

Wilson enters into the room.

"I thought you would be downstairs picking the worms out of the patient yourself." Wilson commented upon approaching the desk. "Is that it?" He looks at the jar.

"No. The worm in the other jar is the one I took out the patient." House said. "Of course that's it."

"I've never seen anything so…" Wilson said as he taps the glass of the jar. The worm violently snaps in his direction. "Aggressive little thing."

"It's becoming aggressive due to the desperation of needing a host in order to survive. The thing is dying." House said. "I've searched every database I can think of. This parasite doesn't exist."

"It obviously does exist. It's in a jar on your desk and inside the patient." Wilson stated. "Could be a new species."

"If it's a new species, than evolution skipped a couple million years in this evolutionary creation. It has the distinguishing characters of several different family types of parasites."

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"This thing didn't evolve. Wasn't created the way nature intended. It was made." House said. "Someone is playing God. And tried to kill the patient with their creation."

"Okay, so you are saying what I thought you were saying."

As House and Wilson continue to talk, several vehicles speed through the front gate of Princeton on route to the Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. The vehicles stop in front of the hospital. Men in suits exit from the vehicles. Two of the men grab biohazard containers.

"Prepare the containment unit." Curtis Franklin said to the technician.

"Will do." The technician said. He enters into the van which houses a fairly large containment unit and begins preparing it.

The rest of the men walk in the direction of the front door. Moments later, they intrude into the lobby and catch the eye of Lisa Cuddy who swiftly approaches them.

"Excuse me, may I help you with som…" Cuddy begins to say.

"Yes, you can step aside." Franklin said as he walks passed her.

"You can't just barge in here…" She steps in front of the men again.

"This…" He holds a badge in front of her face. "…gives me the right to barge into wherever I want. Now step aside or I'll have you arrested…"

"I will not step aside until you tell…"

"Remove her."

One of the men grabs Lisa Cuddy, pulls her to the side and handcuffs her to a stationary object. The rest of the men either enter into the elevator or walk down the hallway in the direction of the ER. One man remains behind in order to keep the lobby contained.

"Call security." Cuddy ordered of the lady at the front desk. The lady grabs the phone as ordered.

A minute passes.

"Okay, thank you." The lady at the front desk said to the person on the other line. She hangs up the phone. "Security was ordered to stand down. We're to cooperate with these men and allow them to do their job."

Cuddy looks up at the man standing nearby.

"What is this about?" Cuddy asked. "Who are you people and why are you here?"

"Who we are, what we do and why we're here is none of your concern." The man gave a plain and simple answer.

"Ugh…" Cuddy sighed. "This has House written all over it."

From inside his office, House notices a group of men in suits. Wilson notices the expression on House's face and turns his head to see the group of men enter into the room.

"Take the jar and the computer." Franklin commanded.

"Can you take Wilson too? He's kind of annoying." House commented.

One man grabs the jar with the parasitic worm, places it into the biohazard container and closes the lid. The other two men walk directly to the computer and start unhooking it.

"Hand over the file for patient Leroy Jethro Gibbs." Franklin stated.

"House…?" Wilson wondered what's going on.

"Like you don't know. These people are obviously MIB; Men in Black if you haven't seen the movie." House said. "He's an alien illegally on this planet, just so you know. I think he's also planning a…"

Franklin grabs House and shoves him to the desk.

"My patience wears thin very quickly." Franklin said.

"Maybe it wouldn't if God made you adequately sized in your lower extremities." House commented.

"This isn't a joke Dr. House." Franklin said. "Give me the file."

"House, just give him the file." Wilson said. "And can I see some credentials please?"

While keeping House pinned to the desk, he takes out his badge and to show Wilson.

"I never heard of BSGSA." Wilson said. "Biological Science and Genetics Security Agency…"

"And you never will again." Franklin said as he puts his badge away. "The file?"

House points to the newspaper. Franklin lifts the newspaper and sees the file for the patient. He takes it and lets House go.

"Thank you for your cooperation." Franklin walks away with the others who are taking the computer and the worm.

"If you happen to find any porn on that computer, it's Wilson's." House stated.

The men exit from the room.

"Apparently what the patient's daughter asked me earlier with a falsifying her father's patient file won't be difficult to do now." House commented.

"Jamie asked you to falsify her father's patient file?" Wilson is curious about what he just heard.

"It has something to do with his ability to be granted full custody of a child. Or something uninteresting like that."

"Good for you, House." Wilson said. "It's not always about you."

"What did you tell her about Stacy?"

"I may have mentioned you once or twice, but I never actually told her anything about you. Whatever she knows she found out on her own. She works at a federal agency. Jamie can find out whatever she wants about whoever she wants. I'm sure she has the connections." Wilson stands up as he needs to leave for a patient's office visit. He walks in the direction of the door.

"She thinks I need to forgive Stacy."

"Maybe you do, House. Maybe you do."

Wilson exits from the room.

The second group of men barge into the emergency OR where House's team is removing the parasitic worms from the patient.

"You can't be in here." Chase said.

"Take the worms." One man said at the site of the jar holding several worms captive. One man takes the jar. He and another man place the worms into the biohazard container and close the lid. "Is this all of them?"

"No…" Cameron said. "There's one left."

"You need to leave." Foreman stated.

"We'll leave when we have the final worm." The man stated. "So get it now."

"Who are you people?" Cameron asked.

"Who we are is unimportant and none of your concern."

"I'm calling security." Foreman said. He turns, walks to the side and grabs the phone. A person on the other line redirects the call to another number. "We have a situation in the…" He stops as the other person speaks. "I understand." He hangs up the phone. "That was Cuddy. We're to cooperate with these men."

"Get me that worm and get it now." The man ordered.

Chase gently moves enough of the patient's intestines to expose the position of the last worm. He carefully pulls the worm out.

"Jar." The man ordered of one of the other men.

A jar rushes into Chase's view. He places the worm into the jar. The man carries the jar to the side, opens the biohazard container, places the jar inside and closes the lid.

The group of men leaves the OR.

As the patient is being closed up, all of the men exit from the hospital. The two men carrying the biohazard containers approach the van with the containment unit. The technician opens the first biohazard container. He removes the worm from the jar and places it into a single compartment inside the containment unit. After sealing the worm inside, he does the same for each of the remaining worms.

With the final worm in its place inside the containment unit, the technician closes the unit. The unit automatically seals tight. A green light flashes; indicating it's safe to proceed. The technician presses a button which starts the process of suspended animation; necessary to preserve the worms and prevent them from dying without a host.

The several vehicles leave the premises.


	13. Chapter 13

***Chapter 13***

On the television is a special report, a breaking story, coming live from outside Pharsbrook Pharmaceutical Company.

"I'm coming to you live outside Pharsbrook Pharmaceutical Company, or better known as PPC." The reporter stated. "In a shocking event, federal authorities raided the reputable pharmaceutical company today. The reason for the raid has yet to be determined. But sources say the company may have overstepped it bounds by conducting a secret biological experiment. We have no information whether or not that's true…"

The television turns off.

"They'll never be told the truth about what was going on there." Gibbs said as he puts the TV remote down.

"It'll be swept under the table." Julianna said while sitting on the hospital bed.

"Listen to you." Tony chuckled. "You're starting to sound like…"

"Me." Gibbs said.

Julianna proudly lies down on the hospital bed next to Gibbs. Chioke, who is sitting on the bed, copies Julianna and also lies down next to him.

While they continue to talk inside the hospital room, House and Wilson are walking down the hall. They stop in view of the room where the patient is recovering from the surgery.

"Another patient saved." Wilson said. "And you seem surprisingly okay with losing the most interesting thing to ever cross your desk."

"Who says I lost it?" House wondered. "I have the team digging through yesterday's medical waste. Cameron apparently saw a worm in the patient's arm yesterday while taking a blood sample. She pricked it."

"So you have them searching through the medical waste in order to find a single syringe which may or may not have a sample from one of the worms."

"Yes."

"Why does that not surprise me…?"

"Cause you know it's a rational thing to do. I'm all about rationality. You know that."

"Sounds more like obsession than anything."

"Or maybe a rational obsession." Jamie stated as she approaches. "Though, you'd probably end up saying obsessions aren't rational. They're irrational and that I'm an idiot."

"She's smart to know she's an idiot." House said.

"Thank you for everything, Dr. House." Jamie thanked him. He says nothing. She then looks to Wilson. "It was a pleasuring seeing you again, James." She leans forward, gives him a quick kiss on the cheek and a hug.

"It was going seeing you too, Jamie." Wilson said.

"Oh my God…" House said.

"What?" Wilson wondered as both he and Jamie look at him.

"You don't feel that? The sexual tension between you two…"

"I'm leaving." Jamie said. She walks away.

"You so want to bone her." House said.

"Not everything is about…"

"Wait!" House exclaimed. Jamie stops and turns around. "When I thought I needed half of your liver, what was your answer going to be? We were interrupted two times before you could give me an answer. What was it?"

"What the answer was makes no difference now."

"It does make a difference." House said. "Everything matters. Even an answer that…"

"Because it's interesting? Sorry to disappoint you… But I guess you'll never know. Goodbye House."

Jamie walks away as Cuddy approaches.

"Those men disrupting hospital business earlier today is your fault." Cuddy stated while looking directly at House. "It has you written all over it."

"My fault?" House wondered. "And here I thought it was the patient's fault."

"I don't care for explanations, trying to project blame on someone else or whatever lame excuse you'll give me." Cuddy said. "For the disruption, you owe me eight extra clinic hours."

Cuddy walks away with a big smirk on her face. House turns and walks in the other direction.

"Where are you going?" Wilson wondered.

"Need to make a phone-call." House answered.

"Good for you, House." Wilson said softly to himself. "Good for you."

House enters into his office. Mufasa, the skunk, immediately approaches him. He looks down at the furry animal on the floor.

"I'm actually going to miss you." House said to the animal. He pops a pill into his mouth. "Come on." The skunk follows him as he walks to the desk.

House sits down in his chair and puts the cane to the side. Then he picks up the skunk and places the animal on the desk. After taking a deep breath, he picks up the phone. There's a brief pause as he looks at the buttons with numbers on them. Finally, he dials.

"Hello?" Stacy Warner said. She gets no response. "I know it's you, Greg. I do have caller ID. Greg?" There's still no response. "I'm hanging up now."

"Don't hang up." House said.

"Why did you call? I have nothing to say to you."

"If you didn't have anything to say, than why did you pick up the phone?"

"Curiosity."

"Well, you may not have anything to say to me. But I have something to say to you."

A conversation starts between House and Stacy in which he finally forgives her for the decision she made that saved his life, but crippled his leg in the process.

McGee walks into the waiting area outside Gibbs' hospital room. Inside the room the family seems to be enjoying each other's company. There is laughter, joking around and smiles all around. He doesn't want to feel like he's intruding, especially since he's the only non-family member. It would feel awkward to him.

As McGee is sitting down on one of the chairs, Tony pops his head out the door.

"Get your butt in here, Tim." Tony said as he motions for McGee to join them. "Come on."

McGee gets up and walks to the room where the others are and where Tony is waiting at the door. Tony places his hand on McGee's right shoulder.

"You called me Tim." McGee finally just realized it.

"I know I've basically been harassing you about coming back to NCIS. I know it's your choice. What happened to you was rough. I'm here for you, though. I got your back." Tony stated. "I support whatever you decide is best for you." He gives McGee a quick friendship hug.

"Thanks Tony."

The two of them approach the bed and enter into the current conversation. With being welcomed into the room and into the conversation, McGee feels an overwhelming sense of belonging. The people in front of him may not technically be family but they're his family in the truest sense of the word.

In McGee's decision to leave NCIS a while back, he forgot about where he belongs. And this is where he belongs. They are family; every single one of them including Ziva, Abby and Ducky who are back in DC.

McGee's fear, which he has been struggling with ever since the funhouse incident, finally lifts. Nothing has been as clear as it is at this very moment. He knows exactly what he wants to do and where he wants to be.

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**THE END**

This concludes the story "Injected". Coming soon will be the next story in this series. But until then, I hope you enjoyed this story.


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